Axios

California will allow amusement parks and sports stadiums to resume operations with limited capacity as early as April 1, per state guidance unveiled Friday.

Why it matters: As coronavirus case counts drop and the vaccine campaign ramps up, California's decision reflects renewed confidence in the safe reopening of its economy and restarting some, albeit with reduced capacity, out-of-the-house activities.

Bars, restaurants and many other businesses in West Virginia can return to 100% capacity if social distancing can be maintained, Gov. Jim Justice (R) said Friday.

The big picture: Justice is the latest governor to lift statewide coronavirus restrictions, despite warnings from health officials.

All public K-12 schools in Oregon must offer in-person instruction by mid-April, Gov. Kate Brown (D) said Friday.

Driving the news: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that K-12 schools could safely resume for in-person instruction and remain open if mitigation strategies are strictly adhered to and community transmission of the coronavirus remains low.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 test for home and other over-the-counter uses.

Why it matters: The single-use test, developed by Cue Health, may increase the availability of reliable coronavirus tests in the United States, potentially allowing Americans to avoid trips to the doctor’s office or a testing site.

All nine Supreme Court justices have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Kathy Arberg, a spokesperson for the court, told CNN Friday.

Why it matters: Six of the justices are at least 60 years old. People that age and older face heightened risk of developing severe illness from the virus, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Easing mask restrictions and on-site dining have increased COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to a study out Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why it matters: The report's findings converge with actions from governors this week easing mask mandates and announcing plans to reopen nonessential businesses like restaurants.

69% of the public intends to get a COVID vaccine or already has, up significantly from 60% in November, according to a report out Friday from the Pew Research Center.

Yes, but: The issue has become even more partisan, with 56% of Republicans who say they want or have already received a coronavirus vaccine compared to 83% of Democrats.

Americans who are highly motivated to get vaccinated are traveling across state lines after hearing about larger vaccine supplies or loopholes in sign-up systems.

Why it matters: "Vaccine tourism" raises ethical and legal questions, and it could worsen the racial socioeconomic and inequalities of the pandemic.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's advisers successfully pushed state health officials to exclude certain data on the number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths from a July report, the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday.

Why it matters: The changes resulted in a "significant undercount of the death toll attributed to the state’s most vulnerable population," WSJ wrote.

Italy on Thursday blocked the export of 250,000 AstraZeneca doses to Australia, becoming the first EU country to exercise an export ban due to a vaccine shortfall in the bloc.

Why it matters: The controversial step exposes multiple major challenges to distributing vaccines — even among the world’s richest countries.

Health insurers' massive pandemic windfall may be interrupted, thanks to an uptick in people seeking the medical care they put off and higher COVID-19 testing and treatment costs.

Why it matters: It turns out that an uncontrolled pandemic gets expensive for insurers, patients, and employers.

The U.S. is now vaccinating an average of 2 million people a day, up from 1.3 million in early February.

Why it matters: That puts us on track to hit President Biden's goal of 100 million doses a month ahead of schedule.

Now that COVID-19 vaccines are bringing hope to fighting the pandemic, there is some concern the U.S. and others will lose interest in improving the tools needed to confront emerging outbreaks.

The big picture: On top of the coronavirus pandemic, there are currently other smaller outbreaks around the globe — some with pandemic potential. These, and the threat of viruses emerging in the future, mean more permanent pandemic preparedness is needed, experts tell Axios.

West Virginia has no plans to lift its mask mandate, Gov. Jim Justice (R) told CNN on Thursday, adding, "I don't know what the rush is, and if we don't watch out, we can make some mistakes."

Why it matters: Texas and Mississippi, both led by Republican governors, are ending coronavirus restrictions as vaccinations ramp up across the country. Ditching the public safety measures could hasten another surge in coronavirus cases.

By combining a range of private and public information, a small startup says it is able to predict COVID-19 hot spots at the neighborhood level a week out — with 92% accuracy.

Driving the news: The startup, Data Driven Health, made a version of its flu and COVID-prediction model freely available Wednesday, offering data down to the neighborhood level.

Telemedicine and other health-related technologies have gotten huge boosts over the past year as COVID-19 upended how patients receive medical attention.

Why it matters: Virtual doctor's appointments and therapy sessions will likely be the norm, even after more people are vaccinated.

The U.S. may be on the verge of another surge in coronavirus cases, despite weeks of good news.

The big picture: Nationwide, progress against the virus has stalled. And some states are ditching their most important public safety measures even as their outbreaks are getting worse.

British scientists are trying to develop a way to deliver COVID-19 vaccines without a needle, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: If annual booster shots ultimately become necessary, as some experts anticipate, alternate delivery systems could make them easier to administer, including at home, and increase uptake.

Michael Neidorff, CEO of health insurance company Centene, made almost $59 million in 2020, according to calculations from the company's preliminary financial documents. That amount was roughly 1.5 times more than what Neidorff made in 2019.

The bottom line: Neidorff's compensation is an early sign of how corporate executives, especially those in health care, reaped large, stock-heavy paydays during the coronavirus pandemic, despite the broader economic turmoil.

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) on Wednesday recommended extending the interval between first and second doses of COVID-19 to up to four months to boost inoculation numbers.

Why it matters: The panel said taking such action would allow about 80% of Canadians over 16 to receive a single dose by the end of June.

The U.S. has administered 80,540,474 COVID-19 doses as of Wednesday, CDC data shows.

Why it matters: That's 75% of the 107,028,890 doses delivered. It means some 1.9 million more doses have been reported administered since Tuesday, taking the seven-day average to over 2 million a day for the first time, CNN notes. Nearly 53 million people, or 16% of the U.S. population, have had at least one COVID shot and almost 27 million have had two, per the CDC.

Go deeper... Biden: U.S. will have enough vaccines for 300M by end of May